The LGBTQ+ pageant not only helped push queer narratives into the mainstream, it also stoked some of the more concerning elements and standards that still exist in the community today.
Launched in 1982 as Mr Hardware before changing its name in 1984, Mr Gay UK was effectively the FA Cup of the country’s gay community. Attracting hundreds of spectators and competitors from around the nation, this annual beauty pageant made national news, with winners near-guaranteed enviable careers in the media as spokespeople for the gay community., a series about UK youth culture.
A quick look through the winners and there’s one clear thread that runs through all of them -- they’re all mostly white muscular men in their twenties, a fact that directly speaks to issues around body shaming and sexual racism. It seemed to suggest that there was only one way to be queer and attractive, a greatly damaging yet alarmingly prevalent narrative that still holds currency in queer communities today.
Most competitors speak positively of the competition, saying that it helped them to build confidence and feel comfortable in their own skin. The prizes would differ each year depending on the sponsor. Sometimes there was an all-expenses-paid holiday, whereas in others there’d be a straight-forward cash prize. In one instance, the winner was also invited to appear in an ad campaign for a well-known underwear brand.
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